In this photo provided by the Van Cliburn Foundation, Texas pianist Van Cliburn performs to a packed audience in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow, Russia, in April 1958 during the first International Tchaikovsky Competition, which he won. Van Cliburn has been diagnosed with advanced bone cancer and is resting comfortably at his Texas home, his publicist said Monday Aug. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Van Cliburn Foundation, file) less

In this photo provided by the Van Cliburn Foundation, Texas pianist Van Cliburn performs to a packed audience in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow, Russia, in April 1958 during the first ... more

Photo: HONS

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FILE - This April 11, 1958 file photo shows pianist Van Cliburn performing in final round of Tchaikovsky International Piano & Violin competition in Moscow. Cliburn, the internationally celebrated pianist whose triumph at a 1958 Moscow competition helped thaw the Cold War and launched a spectacular career that made him the rare classical musician to enjoy rock star status died early Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, at his Fort Worth home following a battle with bone cancer. He was 78. (AP Photo, file) less

FILE - This Feb. 19, 1959 file photo shows pianist Van Cliburn performing for the American Association of School Administrators at the Convention Hall in Atlantic, City, N.J. Cliburn, the internationally celebrated pianist whose triumph at a 1958 Moscow competition helped thaw the Cold War and launched a spectacular career that made him the rare classical musician to enjoy rock star status died early Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, at his Fort Worth home following a battle with bone cancer. He was 78. (AP Photo, file) less

FILE - This Feb. 19, 1959 file photo shows pianist Van Cliburn performing for the American Association of School Administrators at the Convention Hall in Atlantic, City, N.J. Cliburn, the internationally ... more

Photo: STF

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FILE - This July 12, 2003 file photo shows pianist Van Cliburn after performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as the Orchestra plays "Happy Birthday," on his 69th birthday at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. Cliburn, the internationally celebrated pianist whose triumph at a 1958 Moscow competition helped thaw the Cold War and launched a spectacular career that made him the rare classical musician to enjoy rock star status died early Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, at his Fort Worth home following a battle with bone cancer. He was 78. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file) less

FILE - This July 12, 2003 file photo shows pianist Van Cliburn after performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as the Orchestra plays "Happy Birthday," on his 69th birthday at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. ... more

Photo: MICHAEL DWYER, STF

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In 2004, Van Cliburn performed at a concert dedicated to the memory of the victims of a recent Beslan school massacre in Moscow.

In 2004, Van Cliburn performed at a concert dedicated to the memory of the victims of a recent Beslan school massacre in Moscow.

Photo: SERGEY PONOMAREV, STF

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Van Cliburn plays the Star Spangled Banner at the start of a concert series promoting the Super Bowl in Arlington, Texas, September 10, 2010. Cliburn, the legenday pianist, died Wednesday, February 27, 2013. He was 78. (Paul Moseley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT) less

Van Cliburn plays the Star Spangled Banner at the start of a concert series promoting the Super Bowl in Arlington, Texas, September 10, 2010. Cliburn, the legenday pianist, died Wednesday, February 27, 2013. He ... more

Photo: Paul Moseley, MBR

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Van Cliburn is pictured at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, May 3, 2012. Cliburn, the legenday pianist, died Wednesday, February 27, 2013. He was 78. (Ross Hailey/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)

Van Cliburn is pictured at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, May 3, 2012. Cliburn, the legenday pianist, died Wednesday, February 27, 2013. He was 78. (Ross Hailey/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)

Photo: Ross Hailey, MBR

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Van Cliburn speaks to the crowd at the Van Cliburn Foundation's 50th Anniversary Gold Medalists Concert at the Bass Performance Hall in Dallas, Texas, on September 6, 2012. (Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT) less

Van Cliburn speaks to the crowd at the Van Cliburn Foundation's 50th Anniversary Gold Medalists Concert at the Bass Performance Hall in Dallas, Texas, on September 6, 2012. (Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth ... more

Photo: Rodger Mallison, MBR

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Pianist Van Cliburn caught the attention of the world when he won the Tshaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1958, the height of the cold world. When the Texas resident returned to the United States he was given a ticker-tape parade on Broadway in New York City, an honor usually reserved for winning sports teams. This photo was a publicity shot for a 1994 concert at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Credit: Gail Folda/Lincoln Star less

Pianist Van Cliburn caught the attention of the world when he won the Tshaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1958, the height of the cold world. When the Texas resident returned to the United States he was ... more

Photo: Gail Folda

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Cliburn, center, was welcomed home to New York with a ticker-tape parade shortly after winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958. It was the first ticker-tape parade held for a classical musician. less

Cliburn, center, was welcomed home to New York with a ticker-tape parade shortly after winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958. It was the first ticker-tape parade held for a ... more

Photo: HO

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Pianist Van Cliburn dies at 78

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When the United States and Soviet Union were bristling, missiles aimed at each other, a piano was the unlikely weapon that made Van Cliburn "the Texan Who Conquered Russia."

Time magazine awarded that title to the young Cliburn when he rocketed to fame in 1958 by winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Coming only months after the Sputnik spacecraft put the Soviets ahead in what was dubbed the space race, Cliburn's victory - on Russian turf, shining in Russian music - helped restore America's wounded pride. It also launched him to a fame that went far beyond classical-music audiences.

Cliburn died Wednesday at his home in Fort Worth, at age 78. The Cliburn Foundation said the cause was bone cancer.

Though Cliburn was born in Shreveport, La., he was raised in Kilgore in East Texas. That fact - as Time's proclamation demonstrated - resonated far beyond his adopted state. Even when he lived in New York, he lent his name to a piano competition that is a Fort Worth institution. And he moved to that city for the last decades of his life.

"Van was a treasured member of the Fort Worth community who belonged to the world," said Carla Kemp Thompson, chairman of the Van Cliburn Foundation. "His legacy is one of being a great humanitarian, a great musician, a great colleague, and a great friend to all who knew and loved him."

Cliburn was born on July 12, 1934. His father worked in the oil industry, and the family moved to Kilgore when Van was a child. At age 3, he took his first piano lessons from his mother, Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn, who had studied with a pupil of 19th-century virtuoso Franz Liszt.

When Cliburn was 12, he won a statewide piano contest; the prize was a performance with the Houston Symphony. On April 12, 1947, he joined the orchestra for Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1, the work that would become his warhorse after helping him win in Moscow.

Lanky, more than 6 feet tall and capped by a shock of wavy blond hair, Cliburn was cut out to make an impression on audiences. But his playing, especially during his heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, was what really set him apart. At a time when many pianists' goal was to create excitement, Cliburn's hallmarks were grandeur and a rich, full sound, which paid off in Tchaikovsky's concerto and other big-hearted 19th-century works.

To him, music was about more than generating applause.

"Since we know that classical music is timeless and everlasting, it is precisely the eternal verities inherent in classical music that remain a spiritual beacon for people all over the world," he once said.

Fran Sampson, a Houston music lover, saw Cliburn embody that message at the Cliburn competition and in other settings. She met him through her sister, Alann Sampson, a former chairman of the Cliburn Foundation.

"He could get up in front of people and without notes, stun the crowd with his words reflecting his passion for life," Sampson said.

Though Cliburn had already won a top U.S. competition before he went to Moscow, the Tchaikovsky win - thanks to its timing - made him a sensation. He was welcomed home with a ticker-tape parade in New York, the only classical musician to be celebrated in that way. He made a recording of Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1 that became the first classical release to sell 1 million copies.

While Cliburn was still in the first years of his success, he helped open the way for other musicians' careers when he lent his name to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Held every four years since 1962, it has given dozens of pianists a chance to earn a place in the music world. Though Cliburn didn't have an official position with the competition, he was always a presence - from the drawings to determine who played when, to the final award ceremony.

When he mingled with contestants, "it was like they were the only people in his world at that moment," Sampson recalled. "He was so gracious. They were in awe of him."

This year's edition of the competition, which begins May 24, will be dedicated to his memory.

Cliburn stepped back from his own career when he began his sabbatical in 1978. In a 2008 New York Times interview, he reflected on his decision, saying that touring kept him from attending opera - a love of his - and other pleasures.

"I said to myself, 'Life is too short.' I was missing too much," Cliburn said.

Cliburn returned to the stage in 1987, when he played at a White House dinner honoring Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He not only played, but he also sang a favorite Russian song, "Moscow Nights." Gorbachev mouthed the words along with him.

It was around the same time that Cliburn moved from New York to Fort Worth. He resumed performing, but only sparingly. He attended services regularly at Broadway Baptist Church, where he helped with the establishment of a pipe organ named for his mother.

The church, at 305 W. Broadway Ave., in Fort Worth, will be the setting of a visitation 4-6 p.m. Saturday, as well as Cliburn's funeral, set for 3 p.m. Sunday. Both are open to the public.

Cliburn is survived by Thomas L. Smith, a friend of long standing, the Cliburn Foundation said.

Cliburn made his last public appearance in September at a 50th-anniversary celebration for the Cliburn competition. He addressed a crowd of supporters and former contestants.

"Never forget," Cliburn said. "I love you all from the bottom of my heart, forever."